stand-up comedy-related stories
Posted Oct 9th 2009 9:30AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Reality-Free
Comedian man-child Nick Swardson has a new comedy special premiering this week called
Seriously, Who Farted? I smell a Kennedy Center Honor (sniff, or is that a People's Choice Award?).
Now normally, I do like to literally judge something by its cover, but it's hard not to with a title like
Seriously, Who Farted?. A title like that could be either the greatest or absolutely worst of anything of all time, whether it's a comedy special, video game, or brand of cereal. If it's a brand of cereal, then it would most likely be the worst.
So I asks ya...
Posted Jul 25th 2009 1:02PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free
Jim Breuer has a fight ahead of him. The title of his latest special,
Let's Clear the Air (Comedy Central, tonight, 11PM), is a nod to his current place in the public's perception as the stoner from
Half Baked. You can throw in a bit of Goat Boy from
SNL, and you have the cage Breuer has built for himself, the one he's trying to break out of to change his image.
Breuer would like to be known more as a family comic now, and
Let's Clear the Air is his first attempt at that.
Continue reading Jim Breuer's Let's Clear the Air tonight on Comedy Central
Posted Jun 8th 2009 8:02PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Late Night, OpEd, Reality-Free
Tonight,
Bill Burr will be the first stand-up comedian to do a performance spot on
Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show. If you don't know him, you will soon be one of the few. Burr has been on a roll for the past few years, getting stronger and stronger and playing bigger and bigger venues, culminating in last year's special,
Why do I Do This?, which premiered last August on Comedy Central and is now on CD and DVD.
I've seen Burr live for years, playing shows like Denis Leary's annual Comics Come Home in Boston and Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus tour. I have never seen him fail (the closest I came was last year in Los Angeles in front of a mostly indifferent crowd, working really hard for every laugh - for some perspective, Dave Attell and a lot of other good comics bombed that night). He became infamous for a decidedly NSFW YouTube video showing him at an
O&A show in Philadelphia, the only time I can think of that a single comedian took on a crowd of hecklers and won.
Continue reading Bill Burr to perform the first stand-up routine on Conan's Tonight Show
Posted Apr 21st 2009 2:03PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
For those who couldn't figure it out, I'm referring to Jay Leno and not TV Squad's own stand-up comic,
Jay Black (as if Jay Black would work for free. He needs at least a beverage for his effort).
But going back to the story: Jay Leno
is doing another free show. This time it's in Ohio for those who have been laid off. When I
criticized Leno's free show the last time (in which I stated that anybody could claim to be unemployed and get access to the free show and Jay isn't that funny to begin with), it was interpreted in some of the comments as a "bad thing". Taking that into account and after careful reconsideration, I stand by my opinions from the previous article.
On Jay Leno as a person, he's a stand-up guy (pun intended). He gives a lot of his time to various charities, including a comedy tour to soldiers in the Gulf. I have nothing bad to say about Jay as a person. As a comedian, that's another story. But, on behalf of myself, thanks for all your efforts to help, Jay.
Posted Jul 26th 2007 12:02AM by Jay Black
Filed under: Last Comic Standing, Episode Reviews
(S05E07) I'd like to open tonight's review by letting you all know that my wife and I had our first child this past Sunday. I'm telling you this up front so that you'll be forgiving of me if my review isn't up to the cracker-jack standards that you're used to. I'm operating on about one and a half hours of sleep and my entire house is literally covered in poop.
On the bright side, if I ever wind up on
Last Comic Standing I can turn to the camera like every other comic and say, "I'm doing this for my son" while they play emotional music behind me.
Now, on to the review...
Continue reading Last Comic Standing: Semi-final round two
Posted Jun 27th 2007 11:57PM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, Last Comic Standing, Episode Reviews
(S05E04) Something occurred to me tonight as I was watching
LCS: I absolutely hate this show. I don't mean that I kind of dislike it and wish that I didn't have to review it, I mean that I wish that God himself would ride down from the heavens on a golden chariot and demand that His children wipe the show from existence.
There are aspects I like about it (namely the maybe 45 seconds of unedited comedy that we get to see each week), but for the most part, I think the show takes something I love very dearly and turns it into something horrible. Watching it each week is like hanging out with an ex-girlfriend that you loved and thought you were going to marry, but then she developed a coke-addiction. You enjoy talking to her and reminiscing about the old times, but you can't help but notice how much she's gritting her teeth and begging you for money. It's sad. Just... sad.
Phew. Okay, let's get to the review...
Continue reading Last Comic Standing: London and Minneapolis
Posted Nov 28th 2006 4:02PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Industry, Celebrities
Another
King of Comedy has struck a network television deal.
Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac show creator Larry Wilmore are developing a sitcom for ABC. The pilot hasn't been picked up, but if it does eventually make the airwaves, you'll get to see Cedric juggle life as the single father of a teenage girl with his life as a... wait for it... security chief at LAX.
Cedric is, of course, known for his comedy specials and
Barbershop films, but did you know that Larry Wilmore is an on-air contributor to
The Daily Show and consulting producer to
The Office? Personally, I hadn't connected those dots before now. Combining these talents could add up to funny, but the failsafe stand-up material - airport anxiety - could go either way -- a welcome pressure valve letting off America's collective steam or groan-worthy security gags that just aren't funny the 100th time around.
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